Christ as Saviour by El Greco, 1600, Oil on Canvas at the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Prime Timers

The Prime Timers were a Bible study group at St. Martin's for eight years. One of the goals of our founder, Jackie Rose, was to have a weekly web page for the group and all the pages are still online here. The group disbanded but the readings below are being kept up to date.

Lectionary readings

The Readings for Sunday, June 30, are from Lectionary Year C, Proper 8: 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14; Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20; Galatians 5:1, 13-25 and Luke 9:51-62. The text is from the New Revised Standard Version. *

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

¹When David’s time to die drew near, he charged his son Solomon, saying: ²‘I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, be courageous,

⁶Act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his grey head go down to Sheol in peace. ⁷Deal loyally, however, with the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table; for with such loyalty they met me when I fled from your brother Absalom. ⁸There is also with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a terrible curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim; but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, “I will not put you to death with the sword.” ⁹Therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; you will know what you ought to do to him, and you must bring his grey head down with blood to Sheol.’

¹⁰ Then David slept with his ancestors, and was buried in the city of David. ¹¹The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned for seven years in Hebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ¹²So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established.

¹³ Then Adonijah son of Haggith came to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She asked, ‘Do you come peaceably?’ He said, ‘Peaceably.’ ¹⁴Then he said, ‘May I have a word with you?’ She said, ‘Go on.’

Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20

To the leader: according to Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A Psalm.

¹ I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, that he may hear me.
² In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.

¹¹ I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord;
I will remember your wonders of old.
¹² I will meditate on all your work,
and muse on your mighty deeds.
¹³ Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is so great as our God?
¹⁴ You are the God who works wonders;
you have displayed your might among the peoples.
¹⁵ With your strong arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
Selah

¹⁶ When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
the very deep trembled.
¹⁷ The clouds poured out water;
the skies thundered;
your arrows flashed on every side.
¹⁸ The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lit up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹ Your way was through the sea,
your path, through the mighty waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
²⁰ You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Galatians 5:1, 13-25

¹For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

¹³ For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. ¹⁴For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ ¹⁵If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

¹⁶ Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. ¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, ²¹envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. ²⁴And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

Luke 9:51-62

⁵¹ When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. ⁵²And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; ⁵³but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. ⁵⁴When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ ⁵⁵But he turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶Then they went on to another village.

⁵⁷ As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ ⁵⁸And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ ⁵⁹To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ ⁶⁰But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ ⁶¹Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ ⁶²Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

* "New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved."
NRSV